Open letter to Gavi Board Members: Inclusion of civil society in COVAX Facility and COVAX AMC governance is essential

Ahead of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance’s Board Meeting 30 July 2020, over 175 civil society organisations and individuals, including Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign, wrote an open letter to the Board demanding better representation of civil society and communities in the governance of the Gavi-led COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility and COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).

At present, civil society representation is completely absent in the COVAX Facility. Presence of civil society organisations in these governance structures is key in intensifying the focus on equitable global access at a time when vaccine nationalism threatens to undermine a fundamental goal of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.